Next weekend, on Saturday, August 15 Cory Blais.(MM ’19) appears with Austin Camerata at The Cathedra in “Noir: Strings at The Gallery.” Choose from three sessions, at 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM, as “Noir: String Sessions at the Gallery” brings a string quartet and vocalist Naala into The Cathedral for a one-hour performance that moves between classical and contemporary music. Debussy, Nina Simone, Moon River, Billie Eilish, and Chappell Roan are woven together through lush strings, vocals, and a darker edge. Framed by the art surrounding them, the performers don’t just play the room—they haunt it.
For more information visit austincamerata.com.
Wesley Xinke Fu (MM ’26) has been accepted into the fellowship program of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra, a professional training orchestra dedicated to preparing emerging musicians for orchestral careers. Founded in 2000 and led by Music Director Andrei Gorbatenko, the Academy is distinguished by its “side-by-side” training model, in which developing professionals rehearse and perform alongside members of the San Francisco Symphony. Its intensive Artist Diploma in Orchestral Studies emphasizes the practical skills required for success in professional orchestral auditions through private instruction, orchestral excerpt classes, master classes, mock auditions, and public performances. Academy fellows have gone on to win positions with major ensembles including the San Francisco Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Francisco Opera, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and numerous other orchestras in the United States and abroad.
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Kuan Yu Huang (DMA ’29) competes in the 2026 edition of the Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Brussels, Belgium. Candidates were chosen from a total of 185 applicants between the ages of eighteen and thirty. The public rounds begin today with each competitor performing a sonata by Luigi Boccherini, a selection from Nikolai Roslavets’ Meditation, Josef Suk’s Ballade, Op. 3, Nadia Boulanger’s 3 Pièces, and Kaija Saariaho’s Lullaby. Follow along the competition at 
Jonathan Dexter (MM ’05), with the Paragon Ragtime Ochestra, appears in Season 7 of PBS Great Performances docuseries Now Hear This with host Scott Yoo. The episode “Everybody Loves Joplin” premieres tonight on PBS and streams for free throgh May 16.
Katsuaki Arakawa (MM ’26), with his Soha Quartet, both Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the St. Paul String Quartet Competition. Congratulations to Katsu, Mei Liu (violin), Chloe Yofan (violin) and Thomas Gougeon (viola), as well as a big thank you to their coaches, professors Sandy Yamamoto and Joshua Gindele.
Next week, on Saturday, April 11th, at 2pm PT, in Benaroya Hall, Soohyun Juhn (DMA ’18) takes the solo spotlight with the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra in works by the Boulanger sisters. The program, “In such a night as this: Nocturnes,” features Soohyun performing Lili Boulanger’s Nocturne for Cello and Orchestra and Nadia Boulanger’s Three Pieces for Cello and Orchestra, along with works by Debussy, Mozart, and von Suppé.
Selina Yilin Xu (BM ’24, MM ’26), with her Canelé String Quartet, has been awarded Second Prize at the 2026 MTNA Chamber Music Competition, held this year in Chicago. Congratulations to Selina, Zichuan Wang (violin), Summer Bradshaw (violin) and Yusong Zhao (viola), as well as a big thank you to their coach, Prof. William Fedkenheuer.
On March 20, 2026, at 7:30 PM PT, Doug Machiz (MM ’11), with his San-Francisco–based Friction Quartet, celebrates the release of a new album Proper Nostalgia. The project explores what happens when a string quartet treats the recording studio itself as part of the art, commissioning composers to create works designed specifically for the possibilities of modern recording rather than the concert hall alone.
Another Longhorn Cellist is in the spotlight! Next Sunday, in the afternoon of February 22nd, 2026, at 4:00 PM, Wesley Xinke Fu (MM ’26) performs Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, with conductor Robert Radmer and the Balcones Community Orchestra at Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. For venue, ticket and more information, visit 
Longhorn Cellos 